University of Illinois UC2B Project Chooses ADTRAN Active Ethernet Solution

HUNTSVILLE, AL - The University of Illinois and the cities of Champaign and Urbana have selected ADTRAN equipment for the Urbana-Champaign Big Broadband (UC2B) project.

UC2B, an intergovernmental consortium of the University of Illinois and the cities of Urbana and Champaign, is building and operating an open-access fiber optic broadband network throughout the Champaign-Urbana area. The project is made possible by a $22.5 million broadband stimulus grant from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and a $3.5 million grant from the state of Illinois, along with an additional $3.4 million from local public and private organizations.

The foundation of the UC2B network will be a seven-ring fiber optic backbone. The network will provide symmetrical 1 Gbps FTTP connectivity directly to more than 150 community anchor institutions throughout Champaign, Urbana, and Savoy and to households and businesses in 11 underserved neighborhoods in Champaign and Urbana.

This connectivity will enable improved access and support to health care, educational and recreational institutions, public safety and government agencies, and social service and religious organizations, as well as increased access to public computing centers. Employment, entertainment, and social networking opportunities will also be enhanced. In this first phase of the project, services will be extended to more than 10,000 area residents.

“The UC2B project is very important to the Champaign-Urbana region as it allows a new subset of customers to have access to next-generation broadband services that will provide better connectivity to both public and private institutions, such as health care, education, libraries, public safety and social service agencies and senior living centers,” says Mike Smeltzer, director of physical infrastructure at the University of Illinois. “After extensive evaluation of competitive solutions, we selected ADTRAN's Total Access 5000 to provide fiber-based gigabit connectivity to some 2,700 households, businesses and community anchor institutions.”